This invention relates to cleaning agents and, more particularly to a fluid for removing insect debris from vehicle surfaces, and the like.
Frequently, when insects impact a vehicle, an unsightly and unsanitary residue of insect debris adheres to the vehicle""s surface. Removing this debris usually is accomplished by applying a cleaning fluid to the vehicle""s spattered surface and vigorously brushing or rubbing the soiled portion of the surface with a cloth. This cleaning method, however, has a number of disadvantages. For example, the cleaning fluid often is costly and, when energetically applied, can introduce a risk of damaging or otherwise marring the finish on the surface that is being cleaned. Further in this respect, even with an application of considerable manual effort, some residues, or portions of these residues, will continue to adhere to the surface in question.
Particularly troublesome in this respect is the Plecia nearctica, or xe2x80x9clovebug,xe2x80x9d that breeds in regions bordering the Gulf of Mexico. In the mating season these insects cluster in immense, hovering swarms, frequently over highways, where they become a nuisance to motorists who are compelled to drive into and through these masses of breeding insects. Apart from the aggravation of driving through these insect swarms, the spattered xe2x80x9clovebugxe2x80x9d residue on the vehicle surface is uncommonly difficult to remove without damaging the automobile finish, or paint.
To provide a suitable cleanser capable of removing insect, and particularly xe2x80x9clovebugxe2x80x9d residues from automotive and other vehicular surfaces, several criteria must be satisfied. For example, the cleaning substance should be inexpensive; effective without excessive brushing, mopping or other physical treatment; safe to apply; environmentally harmless; and will not damage, discolor or otherwise degrade the vehicle""s finish.
Through the years, hydrogen peroxide in combination with other substances has been proposed for any number of purposes, of which cleaning, deodorizing and disinfecting surfaces are typical. Hydrogen peroxide, for instance, has been proposed for use with water, hydroxides and hypochlorites to provide a flotation agent that enables expanded vermiculite to separate from abradants and other undesirable matter entrained in the exfoliated vermiculite.
With respect to cleaning fluids, proposals have been advanced to combine an organic solvent and an emulsifying agent with hydrogen peroxide and water for cleaning carpets and similar household uses.
None of these cleaning fluids that characterize the prior art, however, directly address the problem of bug residue removal or suggest a combination of materials that satisfy each of the criteria of a truly successful vehicular cleansing agent that are mentioned above. Further in this regard, these proposed cleansing formulations require a combination of not less than two substances beyond a basic water and hydrogen peroxide mixture. Clearly, these additives increase the cost of the product and are not at all effective in removing xe2x80x9clovebugxe2x80x9d residues from automobiles.